Tag: cycletrack

DC Again and Again

The ride to DC from my home is not hilly and there is very little auto traffic to deal with so I tend to pedal there often. Last Friday I rode to Friday Coffee Club which is held at ME Swings House of Caffeine at 17th and G Streets Northwest, about a half a block from Donny Dementia’s house and construction site. I don’t actually see the White House because Donny has blocked off Pennsylvania Avenue and Lafayette Park.

On Sunday I rode to Lincoln Park in Capitol Hill to participate in a rolling protest organized by Hill Family Biking. It seems that without warning Donny’s henchmen had decided to tear out the 15th Street Cycletrack (which I use to ride to Friday Coffee Club) from Constitution Avenue to the 14th Street Bridge. This cycletrack is a two-way bike lane that is protected from auto traffic. It crosses the National Mall at the Washington Monument, continues to the Tidal Basin, and ends on the rear of the Jefferson Memorial. Since the famous cherry trees are at peak bloom today, the destruction of the cycletrack would have been incredibly ill timed. Data shows that the cycletrack has significantly reduced bike crashes as well as vehicle crashes. The administration claims that tearing the cycletrack out would improve transportation in the city..

The protest was led by ride marshals who took us on two laps around the park before heading west past the Capitol to the Mall, where we stopped at the base of the Washington Monument. Speeches were speeked. Conveniently, the president’s motorcade came by while we were there and we treated him to vigorous boos and jeers.

On my way to the ride, I ran into Kevin who is a long-standing member of the 50 States and Cider Ride posses, at the Jefferson Memorial. At Lincoln Park I met up with Robin, a Friday Coffee Club regular. I broke off from Robin during the laps around the park when I thought I saw Beth. Since we were riding in a big crowd it took a half mile before I confirmed that it was her. Beth used to work on my bikes when she was at Bikes at Vienna. She built the wheels that I used on The Mule to ride across the country in 2018. Although she has lived in the DC area for over ten years she is only now becoming familiar with DC itself. (She has an open invitation to join the posse for the 50 States.) One of the ride marshals was Jeanne, who, by day, is a realtor on the Hill. One of her selling points is the fact the Capitol Hill is a walkable, bikeable small city within a city.

After the speeches, Beth took off to explore the entire length of the cycletrack which continues north (except for where Trump’s East Wing construction debacle interrupts it) for a mile or so through the city. Thousands of people use this piece of infrastructure to get around town safely.

Yesterday I rode to DC again to check out the cherry blossoms in East Potomac Park. The trees which line Ohio Drive through the park were in fine form.

Today I rode back to DC to check out the Tidal Basin cherry trees. After I walked around the Basin, I rode to the east side of Capitol Hill to try out what is purported to be the best Italian sub in the area at Mangialardo’s on Pennsylvania Avenue. I rode over to Lincoln Park to dine under the cherry trees there. I am happy to report that Mangialardo’s makes one awesome Italian sub. I have to go back soon. Oink. I rode the cycletrack to get around the Tidal Basin. There were literally thousands of tourists and blossom-distracted drivers to contend with. How did the city ever get by without it?

Back at the ranch my tired body was happy to hang in my recliner and watched the first game of the Washington Nationals season. They beat the Cubs in Chicago 10-4. Alas, this is likely to be the high point for the team as the next 161 games will almost certainly put their many weaknesses on display. I also learned that after firing most of its sports department (and nearly every columnist I read) the Washington Post has hired a beat writer to cover the Nationals. Too little, too late. After over 40 years, on April 1, I will no longer be a subscriber.

Ohio Drive in East Potomac Park
Martin and the cherry trees at the Tidal Basin
Italian sub heaven
Pink trumpet man at the Tidal Basin
Jeanne keeping us safe
Peace Beth
I think this is what’s left of the East Wing of the White House on the golf course in East Potomac Park

A couple of weeks ago I did a meandering ride through the city. Along the way I stopped on Florida Avenue Northeast to check out the ghost bike that commemorates the death of Dave Salovesh on Good Friday 2019. The protected bike lane was not there when he was hit by a driver.

Dave’s ghost bike

The removal of the 15th Street Cycletrack is on hold thanks to a legal challenge from the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.

Five Buck Bikeabout

Yesterday’ weather was fantastic.  Good weather for goofing off is also good weather for getting stuff done around the house. Sorry to disappoint you, my friends, but I chose responsibility over slacking.

I mowed the lawn and painted the shed. Most of the painting had already been done by Mrs. Rootchopper during the week but I took on the tedious chore of painting the trim. Four plus hours of pure fun. Not. When I was done I reloaded the shed with all the stuff. It’s good to be back to normal, but my efforts were rewarded with lower back pains.

So I started the today with my usual noga (My wife says it’s yoga, I say it’s back exercises so let’s just call it noga, okay?). After that I languished on my deck reading the Sunday paper. Had I stuck around it would have been tea and buttered scones but I decided to go on a recon ride to DC. I am riding my ninth 50 States Ride in a month and need to find a parking spot near the start. (It’s not too late to sign up. You have to be a WABA member, or come as the guest of one. )

So off I rode to DC on the Mount Vernon Trail. It was busy, mostly with tourists on rental bikes. You can tell because they gape at all the stuff I see every day. On the Dyke Marsh bridge I caught up to a bike tourist. We had a ten second chat from which I learned that he is riding around the perimeter of the 48 contiguous states. He started in Minnesota and is riding counterclockwise. So he’s already been from midnight to three o’clock. The ride will take him 14 months. Go dude! (I found his journal when I got home over on Crazyguyonabike.com. The journal notes say that he also took a side trip to Hawaii and dropped down into Mexico for a few days.)

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After ten miles of weaving around the rent-a-bikers, I made it into DC and headed for Rock Creek Park. Along the way, I spotted a cricket match because this is DC and DC is eclectic as fuck.

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The weather was nearly as good as yesterday. The park side trail is being refurbished and looks great for most of the way from Georgetown to Military Road. At one point, people were gathering along the trail to look into the creek. Five bucks were making their way across the creek. The road crossing had all us bystanders holding our breath. I think they made it across without incident. (The picture shows only the southbound half of the road just after a merge to the left out of frame. The grassy median is wooded and wide. They had to make it across another two lanes of northbound traffic after that.)

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I made it to the new Klingle Valley trail which I had ridden downhill recently. Today, I slogged up the hill. I kept my breathing and effort constant and had no trouble making the climb. Of course, neither would you at 7 miles per hour.

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Once i reached the top, I check out some of the local streets for parking. As long as you are willing to ride a mile (or less) to the start of the ride, you’ll have no trouble finding a place for your metal fart barge (Colin made me say that.)

After the recon was over, I rode to Meridian Hill Park for no other reason than it’s one of my favorite places in DC. The water cascade was dry earlier this summer but it is now flowing in all its glory. The park is built into a hill. Looking down from the top (near the swordless statue of Joan of Arc) the cascade is pretty. Looking up from the base of the park, it is just WOW! And it sounds so soothing you could sit beside it all day canoodling with your canoodle-ee.

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Mon Dieu! Ou est mon epee?

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Cascade from the top of the park

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Cascade from the bottom of the park

I thought it would spoil the vibe if I started canoodling with myself so I made my way home down the 15 Street cycletrack. This was a mistake. It took a really long time. I could have been bombing down 16th Street instead. Riding in a cycletrack in DC feels like you’re in a video game. People, ubers, delivery vans, dogs, and other random stuff seem to appear. You’ll never score enough points if you don’t pay attention.

The ride home was a breeze. Literally. I took a side trip through Del Ray for a change of pace. After 40 miles, I didn’t feel the slightest bit tired. I’m ready for my tour, Mr. DeMille.

Some more pix of my ride are on my Flickr page.